Actors/Actresses

Portrayed by

Voiced by

"After everything that happened with S.H.I.E.L.D., during my little hiatus, I went back to Russia and tried to find my parents. Two little graves linked by a chain fence. I pulled some weeds and left some flowers. We have what we have when we have it."

Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanoff, better known as Black Widow, is one of the best spies and assassins in the entire world and a founding member of the Avengers. Originally an agent of the Soviet agency for foreign intelligence, the KGB, she later became a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., the international counter-intelligence agency. Having extensive mastery in martial arts and armed with her Widow's Bite, Black Widow became one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most talented agents. During one mission, she was sent undercover into Stark Industries to watch Tony Stark due to fears he was dying. During this mission, Romanoff had assisted Stark with defeating Ivan Vanko's terrorist plots against him.

When Loki declared war on the Earth, Black Widow was recruited into the Avengers as her friend Clint Barton had just been taken hostage by Loki and used as a pawn against the team. Romanoff assisted in recruiting Stark and Bruce Banner into the team while they tracked down and attempted to capture Loki, eventually saving Barton from his grasp. Once Loki's entire plan had been uncovered, Romanoff joined the team during the Battle of New York and was instrumental in destroying the portal over the city which had been created by the Tesseract, effectively ending the entire invasion while Loki was defeated and captured.

In the wake of the Avengers successfully defeating Loki, Romanoff had continued her work with S.H.I.E.L.D., this time working with fellow agent Captain America. While working together, Romanoff and Rogers uncovered a conspiracy following an assassination attempt on Director Nick Fury, which had eventually led to them discovering that HYDRA had somehow been infiltrating their entire organisation. Despite the efforts of the Winter Soldier to stop them, Romanoff helped expose Alexander Pierce's evil schemes to the world, which also resulted in all of her own morally dubious history being revealed to the world. As a result, Romanoff was forced into dropping off the grid again to begin rebuilding her cover.

Romanoff eventually rejoined the Avengers, working to bring down various HYDRA cells across the world and assisting in the capture of their leader, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. However, before she could form a romantic relationship with Bruce Banner, the rogue artificial intelligence Ultron was created by Tony Stark and Banner, forcing Romanoff and the rest of their team to join together and defeat him. Despite being captured, Romanoff was able to inform the team of Ultron's location on Sokovia, resulting in a final battle in which the Avengers had defeated Ultron once and for all. Unlike most members of the original Avengers, Black Widow remained a member while forming the second incarnation of the team.

As the many of the governments of the world had demanded the Avengers to sign the Sokovia Accords in the wake of their recent battles, Romanoff agreed to their terms and signed the Accords. She later joined Iron Man in a fight against Captain America due to of his disagreements with the Accords and his criminal activities with the Winter Soldier who Rogers was attempting to protect. As the two Avengers' factions fought against each other, Romanoff betrayed Iron Man's team in order to assist Captain America to find the instigator of the team's fight. As a result, Black Widow had to escape from the government for aiding her old friend.

Red Room Training

"In the Red Room, where I was trained, where I was raised, um, they have a graduation ceremony. They sterilize you. It's efficient. One less thing to worry about. The one thing that might matter more than a mission. Makes everything easier, even killing."

At a young age[4], Romanoff was recruited by the KGB.[1] At a Red Room facility, she endured both an education and indoctrination into the world of spy-craft. Romanoff excelled in this strict training environment and soon became regarded as a master spy and one of the world's greatest assassins. Her ruthless effectiveness in later years earned her the code name, Black Widow.[4] As a final ceremony to complete her training, Romanoff was sterilized, as to avoid any distractions and focus solely on her missions, something she deeply regretted later in her life.[5]

Due to both her expertise and her growing threat to global security, Romanoff quickly appeared on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, prompting Director Nick Fury to send Agent Clint Barton, better known as Hawkeye, to eliminate her. Hawkeye disobeyed this order, recognizing her skill, and recommended her for recruitment for S.H.I.E.L.D. At the behest of Director Fury, Romanoff later defected from Russia and joined the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. From that moment on, she developed a lasting partnership with Barton. Together they had missions in Budapest, Abidjan, and many other locations. Natalia eventually started going by the name "Natasha".[4]

Serving as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent

The Winter Soldier

"Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot at my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me."

In 2009, when she was assigned to protect a nuclear scientist, she was attacked by the mysterious assassin known as the Winter Soldier, who was sent to kill the scientist. Though she and the scientist were pushed over a cliff, Romanoff managed to save both herself and the man she was protecting. Seeing this, the Winter Soldier fired a single round through Romanoff's stomach and into the scientist, effectively killing him.

After this encounter, Romanoff would go on to attempt to track down the Winter Soldier for an unspecified amount of time, but was forced to give up after accepting that he was more elusive than any other enemy she had encountered.[1]

Natalie Rushman

Natalie Rushman when she modeled in Tokyo

"Oh wow, very, very impressive individual. She's fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin. Who speaks Latin?""No one speaks Latin, it's a dead language. You can read Latin, or you can write Latin, but you can't speak Latin.""Did you model in Tokyo? 'Cuz she modeled in Tokyo."

Under the name "Natalie Rushman", Romanoff did modeling work in Tokyo as part of an undercover operation.[6] Romanoff was then sent on one of her usual missions, sent to ruin an operation of the Ten Rings. She boarded the Ten Rings plane and caused its explosion. Just as she was fighting of a Ten Rings operative in the plane, she was sent by Nick Fury to infiltrate Stark Industries. Under the guise of "Natalie Rushman", Romanoff was hired as a notary public by Secretary Bambi Arbogast. Romanoff worked her way at getting to Tony Stark in many ways, including secretly making her co-worker, Samantha Carlisle, sick in order to deliver documents to Stark.[7]

The ulterior motive for her employment was for her to keep an eye on Tony Stark after he signed his company over to Pepper Potts. In reality, Romanoff had been assigned to assess whether he was suitable for a plan to bring together a group of people with unparalleled talents. Romanoff arrived as Potts' replacement catching the attention of Stark and Happy Hogan while they were boxing. Romanoff obtained signatures from Potts as Stark asked for her name and then telling her to join him in the boxing ring.

Stark then told Hogan to give Romanoff a lesson for which Hogan didn't take seriously not being aware of her training. Stark ran a search on her and discovered that she was fluent in French, Italian, Russian, and Latin and had done some modeling in Japan. As Romanoff watched Stark ogle her, Hogan went to hit her, but Romanoff blocked the blow and scissored him around the head and pinned him to the ground. Romanoff then got out of the ring and obtained Stark's fingerprint and then left, leaving Stark astounded. Romanoff went on to be Starks assistant from then on.

Romanoff met Stark and Potts in Monaco who greeted them and guided Stark with the photographers and informed him of his nine-thirty dinner which he told her he'll arrive at eleven. When Stark appeared on the television, contesting in the MonacoGrand Prix, Potts called Romanoff over to see if she knew about it which she didn't. Potts asked for Romanoff to get Hogan and bring him to her so they could stop Stark.

On Tony Stark's birthday, Romanoff walked in on Stark, who was observing his Arc Reactor in his chest which was getting worse, with a selection of watches to wear for his party. The two then talked about whether he should cancel his party due to recent events. Romanoff then covered up some of Starks bruises on his face as Stark asked her what she would do if it was her last birthday, which she told him that she would do whatever she wanted with whoever she wanted to do it with before leaving.

Taking in what Romanoff said, Stark got really drunk, flirting with Romanoff and letting her wear an Iron Man Gauntlet and blast an ice sculpture. After being frustrated with Stark's behaviour, James Rhodes, stole Starks Iron Man Armor: Mark II and engaged in a fight with Stark, causing the party guests to leave.[6] During Stark's and Rhodes' fight, Romanoff ran into Potts who confronted her saying that ever since she arrived she know something wasn't right. Suddenly the fight made its way to the two causing them to evacuate. Romanoff then contacted Director Nick Fury and debriefed him on the situation. When he offered to come, she told him not to.

Now dressed in her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, Romanoff met with Fury at Randy's Donuts to provide a short-term antidote to Stark's palladium poisoning.[8] Sneaking in from the back entrance, Romanoff surprised Stark as she revealed to be an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. the entire time. Stark said she was fired but Romanoff made it clear that it wasn't up to him. Fury introduced her to Stark revealing Natalie Rushman isn't her name and that she was assigned by Fury to watch him. Romanoff gave Stark a serum which postponed the effects of the Arc Reactor's radiation, which was poisoning his body, so he could work on a cure.

Romanoff still working undercover as an assistant

Later, Romanoff, along with Fury and Phil Coulson, went to Tony Stark's Mansion and she was told by Fury that she was to remain in position as an assistant. Later at Stark Industries, while Stark was visiting Pepper Potts, Romanoff walked in and requested for Potts to sign something. Romanoff was told by Potts to sort out the personal belongings with Stark. When Potts left, Stark started to grill Romanoff and told her that he found it amazing that she does what she does. When he claimed that she could not speak other languages, she replied in Latin, then repeated herself in English, telling him that he could, "Either drive himself home or she can have him collected."[6]

When they arrived at the facility, Romanoff told Hogan, who was confused on what she was wearing, to stay in the car. Romanoff broke into the facility and the two were approached by a guard who Hogan engaged in a fight while Romanoff continued. She then defeated any guards in her way using multiple gadgets like her Taser Disks, Flash Bombs, Wire and Pepper Spray as well as her skills. Romanoff managed to defeat all the guards with ease and continued to Vanko's location where she found he wasn't there. Romanoff was able to gain back control over Rhodes' battle suit. She also informed Iron Man of Vanko arriving at his location after they defeated all the Hammer Drones.[6] She then retrieved Hammer Industries data before Ivan Vanko's bombs went off.[9]

Romanoff was then ordered to make sure that Banner did not leave anything for Samuel Sterns, with whom he had recently been, to work on. As she headed up the front steps, she witnessed Blonsky, now as Abomination, emerge from the building. She was buried in rubble, but still managed to make her way upstairs. She stumbled upon Sterns, whose mutation had heightened significantly, and his brain power had been augmented exponentially.[12] After a brief dialogue with him, during which Sterns identified Black Widow's birth place from a hint of accent in her voice, Romanoff shot him in the leg.[13]

She called in a S.H.I.E.L.D. cleanup team, and signaled her location on the roof with flares. She saw the chaos of Abomination and Hulk's battle in the distance. Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, she confronted Fury, stating that all of the events going on were too much to handle.[13]

Back in Russia

Once again on a mission, Black Widow arrived in Moscow, Russia, where she searched for missing Stark Industries technology. Disguised as Tatiana Sokolova, she worked at a night club. While trying to interrogate Mikhail Fjodorov, one of the world's most successful illegal arms dealers, Fjodorov was killed by an unknown woman and Romanoff was forced to leave the club via the roof, fighting several security men. After she returned to a hotel, she was attacked by a team of masked mercenaries, but she defeated them and received a SIM card to reach the mysterious woman she has seen in the night club. Later, Black Widow talked to the woman named Sofia, and learned that she is a "fan" and wants to take over the name "Black Widow". Romanoff agreed to meet with Sofia and broke all her contacts with S.H.I.E.L.D.[15]

A few days later, Romanoff confronted Sofia in a sport hall in Sochi, where she almost drowned in cold water, but she was saved at the last moment by Phil Coulson, who was following a pair of goons working for the arms dealer General Starodoub. Coulson gave Romanoff the necessary equipment to infiltrate the yacht belonging to Yuri Klementiev, one of General Starodoub's business partners, where she met Sofia again, an encounter which cost them the life of agent Gennady Markov.[16]

When Coulson discovered that Sofia's employer was the billionaire Richard Frampton, Natasha infiltrated his headquarters in Vladivostok. She discovered that Frampton works for the Ten Rings terrorist organization and that he had made a Jericho missile that would explode near the border between Russia and North Korea, greatly destabilizing the world peace. Romanoff infiltrated the launching area and destroyed the missile. Both Frampton and Sofia were killed in the explosion.[17]

Interrogated by Georgi Luchkov

Black Widow being interrogated

"Natasha... Barton's been compromised.""Let me put you on hold. - Where is Barton now?""We don't know. But he's alive. We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy.""Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me.""Oh, I've got Stark. You get the big guy.""Bohze moi![18]"

Romanoff's next target was Georgi Luchkov, the corrupt Russian general who illegally sold weapons to the highest bidder. Romanoff was sent to spy on Luckkov's activities, however she was knocked out from behind by one of his henchmen, who caught her sneaking around. When she awoke, she found herself tied to a chair, yet when Luchkov interrogated her, he unknowingly spilled all of his secrets. However as Luchkov was preparing to seeminly torture Black Widow, and whist mentioned of torture gave Agent Romanoff a scare and two quickened breaths, her interrogation was interrupted when Phil Coulson called and requested to speak to Romanoff.

Coulson informed Romanoff that she needed to come in which she refused as she was in the middle of an interrogation, but when Coulson informed her that Clint Barton was compromised as incentive. Romanoff put Coulson on hold and then immediately freed herself and fought and captured Luchkov and his men. Coulson told Romanoff to go recruit Bruce Banner which she hesitated and asked to recruit Tony Stark, which Coulson had covered. Romanoff then picked up her shoes and left the warehouse and went to go recruit Bruce Banner.[4]

Recruiting Bruce Banner

"You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle.""Avoiding stress isn't the secret.""Then, what is it? Yoga?""You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded?""Just you and me."

Romanoff traveled to Bruce Banner's hidden location in Kolkata, India. She had a child to act as if her father was sick to lead him into an abandoned house. Banner, realized that it was a set up as Romanoff calmly introduced herself and explained the situation to him. Romanoff told Banner that it was just the two of them, which was a lie as multiple S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were outside. She told Banner about the Tesseract and that they require his help to locate it as the Tesseract emits a weak Gamma Radiation signal.

Banner reassured that Hulk was not needed which Romanoff told him that Nick Fury had not mentioned anything about Hulk. When Romanoff tried to assure Banner that he would not be imprisoned, Banner mocked rage to test her reaction; she pulled a gun on him and aimed it at his head, but Banner calmly explained he was testing her. Romanoff was able to convince Banner to come into S.H.I.E.L.D. and ordered the agents outside to stand down.[4]

Assembling On The Helicarrier

Romanoff brought Bruce Banner onto the Helicarrier, to help locate the Tesseract. Coulson then arrived with Steve Rogers and introduced the two. Romanoff then told Coulson that he was needed on the bridge. The two then walked together and got aquatinted and asked him if Coulson asked him to sign his trading cards. She introduced Banner to Rogers and recommended that they move inside as it would become hard to breathe. The Helicarrier then began to take off so the three went inside. Inside the Helicarrier, Romanoff showed Banner to his lab and continued to search for Clint Barton.[4]

Capturing Loki

S.H.I.E.L.D. located Loki in Stuttgart, Germany and Romanoff flew on Quinjet to this location with Steve Rogers. As Captain America fought Loki, Romanoff tried to get a shot at Loki but was unable to due to Loki using his magic to make multiple illusions of himself appear. Suddenly loud AC/DC'S Shout to Thrill music started to play on the Quinjet as Iron Man flew in to help asking if she had missed him, making Romanoff smile. They succeed in capturing Loki and brought him on the Quinjet to take him to the Helicarrier.

On their way back in the Helicarrier, Nick Fury asked Romanoff whether Loki had said anything, which Romanoff informed him that Loki had stayed silent. Suddenly an unexpected lightning storm was taking place and Thor suddenly entered the Quinjet and left with Loki in tow. Romanoff asked if Thor was another Asgardian as Iron Man went to retrieved him. Captain America then went to join Iron Man, when Romanoff warned him that he should sit this one out as Thor comes from legend and is basically a god, but he chose to fight anyway saying that there is only god and he doesn't dress the same way Thor does.[4]

Interrogating Loki

"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian, or I was.""And what are you now?""It's really not that complicated. I've got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out.""Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Dreykov's daughter? Sao Paulo? The hospital fire? Barton told me everything."

As Loki was being locked up, Romanoff listened in as he and Nick Fury talked to each other. Romanoff told Thor that Erik Selvig and Clint Barton are under Loki's control. When Thor told Bruce Banner to take care of how he speaks about Loki as he is his brother, Romanoff informed him that Loki had killed eighty people in two days making Thor tell them that Loki was adopted. Romanoff decided to interrogate Loki and find out his intentions.

Romanoff approached the demigod Loki, undetected so she could interrogate Loki which he noted that not a lot of people could sneak up on him. Romanoff wanted to know what Loki has done with Clint Barton which Loki told her that he had expanded his mind. Whenever Romanoff asked what would happen to Barton after Loki had conquered Earth, Loki questioned Romanoff's feelings asking if it was love. Romanoff made it clear that she owed Barton a debt and she told Loki about her history with Barton.

Romanoff decided to pretend to break down her barriers to Loki so he would reveal his plans. Loki then began to taunt Romanoff telling her about her history which Barton had told him about. Loki then told Romanoff that he would force Barton to kill Romanoff but he ended up revealing that he planned on unleashing Banner's monstrous alter-ego, Hulk. Romanoff then warned S.H.I.E.L.D. about Loki's plan and went to escort Banner to his room.[4]

Loki's Manipulation

Romanoff during the Avengers argument

"Loki is manipulating you.""And you've been doing what exactly?""You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you.""And I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy."

After figuring out Loki's plan to unleash Hulk, Romanoff made her way to the lab Bruce Banner was working in to escort him. An arguement then broke out between the Avengers due to the effects of the Mind Stone. Romanoff stayed silent for most of the time except when she tried to escort Banner to his cell. While the group argued, Clint Barton, under the control of Loki, fired an explosive arrow onto the Helicarrier which blew up the lab. Romanoff was briefly knocked out and she and Banner were thrown into another room.[4]

"Doctor Banner... Bruce, you gotta fight it. This is just what Loki wants. We're gonna be okay. Listen to me. We're gonna be okay, right? I swear on my life I will get you out of this! You will walk away, and never...""YOUR LIFE...?"

Whilst Romanoff lay senseless on the floor, a large piece of equipment had fallen on to her foot, and she awoke to find herself trapped with Banner transforming into Hulk. Romanoff attempted to calm Banner down, but he was too angry. Romanoff saw two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents coming to help, but she told them to leave, knowing they would be in danger. As Romanoff tried to free herself, she witnessed as Banner transformed into Hulk, leaving Romanoff horrified. Romanoff eventually freed herself and attempted to escape from Hulk. Filled with rage, Hulk chased after Romanoff and nearly killed her. Romanoff tried to hide from Hulk but she could not escape from him. Romanoff attempted to fend herself off from Hulk and barely did causing her to try to run away from Hulk. Hulk managed to outrun Romanoff and threw her aside, which winded her and broke 2 of her ribs. As Hulk went to kill Romanoff, Thor charged into Hulk saving Romanoff.

Still dazed after her encounter with Hulk, Romanoff was forced to take on Clint Barton who was under Loki's control. Barton was walking down the Helicarrier when he was confronted by Romanoff who snuck up behind him in an attempt to disarm him. The two old friends had a prolonged fight using her combat skills, Romanoff was able to fight Barton and defend herself from his attacks with his bow and arrows and knife. When the fight got dirtier, Romanoff used her teeth to disarm Barton. Barton used all his top level training to kill his former friend, including firing several arrows at her, although Romanoff was able to dodge them, as well as attempting to drive a knife into her neck while pulling her hair back.

In the end Barton was no match for Romanoff's speed and quick-thinking and eventually she got the upper hand, disarming him and slammed Barton's head onto a steel pipe. The blow weakened Loki's grip on Barton's mind and he recognized Romanoff, calling her by her first name before she knocked him out with a final strong punch to the head, breaking his connection to Loki and restoring his mind. Romanoff watched as Barton was taken away by a S.H.I.E.L.D. team to be rehabilitated.[4]

Clint Barton's Recovery

After Romanoff defeated Clint Barton, he was arrested and tied down until it was certain that Loki's control was gone and he was no longer a threat. Romanoff looked after Barton in the recovery room, listening to him as he described the experience, which he compared to being unmade, which Romanoff understood from past experiences. Despite him asking, Romanoff refused to tell Barton how many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents he had killed, telling him that Loki and Loki alone was responsible for the killings and he must not blame himself. When Captain America arrived to ask Romanoff if she could pilot a Quinjet, Barton told him he could. After Romanoff gave him the nod of approval, Rogers allowed Barton to join them on the mission.[4]

Black Widow was prepared to fight Loki beside the other Avengers and his Chitauri army, though being a spy and not a soldier. Hawkeye flew her and Captain America into New York in a Quinjet where the portal had already opened over the city, allowing thousands of aliens to enter and attack. Loki managed to shoot the Quinjet out of the sky and the team fought the extraterrestrials on the ground. Alongside Hawkeye, Black Widow fought the oncoming horde of Chitauri soldiers until the rest of the Avengers arrived. Black Widow used all her skills and weapons to defeat the Chitauri army while the civilians all clear out. While Black Widow and Hawkeye fight the Chitauri, she reminded him that the situation of being similar to a mission they took place in Budapest, which Hawkeye told Black Widow that he remembered Budapest differently.

When the others arrived, Captain America ordered that Black Widow and he would stay on the street to protect the people and keep the fight where they could control it. She and Captain America fought hard; She used her Black Widow's Bite and guns to kill dozens of Chitauri soldiers. However, the fight was almost too exhausting for her.

Closing the Portal

"Captain, none of this is going to mean a damn thing if we can't close that portal.""Our biggest guns couldn't touch it.""Well maybe it's not about guns."

After a while the plan of keeping the fight contained proved meaningless; she decided to obtain one of the Chitauri Chariots and fly it to Stark Tower. On the way she was chased by Loki and called on Hawkeye to shoot him out of the sky. She eventually made it to Stark Tower where the portal to their domain was open and met Erik Selvig, who had come out of the mind control. Together, using Loki's scepter, they closed the portal for good, ending the invasion.[4]

Later, the team took a breather at the Shawarma Palace. They were interrupted by War Machine, who arrived too late to help in the battle.[19] The Avengers gathered together in Central Park the next day to send Thor back to Asgard with Loki and the Tesseract. While Loki was in chains, Romanoff whispered something in Barton's ear about Loki's punishment, causing Barton to grin. When the team went their separate ways, Romanoff left with Barton in a S.H.I.E.L.D. car.[4]

After New York

Zodiac

After participating in the Battle of New York, Romanoff became partners with Captain America and they ran many operations together. One such operation occurred upon the theft of the Zodiac weapon from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Romanoff infiltrated the terrorist cell of a man named "Baker" using the alias "Audrey". Posing as Audrey, she spent several weeks undercover determining what Baker's plan for Zodiac was.

Upon discovering Baker's plan to release the Zodiac in the Willis Tower in Chicago during the height of the day, killing all within, Romanoff alerted Captain America.

Romanoff, Rogers and Agent Brock Rumlow confronted Baker's cell in the Skydeck of Willis Tower, and after a brief combat, subdued the terrorists, and recovered the Zodiac.[20]

Brooklyn

Rogers and Romanoff in Brooklyn.

"My work for S.H.I.E.L.D. has taken me all over the world...and that is, without a doubt, not just the best milk shake in Brooklyn...but on the whole darn planet."

Under the guise of Rogers showing Romanoff the places that he grew up, they managed to draw out the Cadre mercenaries that had set up in multiple locations throughout the neighborhood. Tracing the mercenary that had abducted Amanat through a maze of alleyways, Cap succeeded in taking out the last mercenary with a little help from Amanat herself.[21]

Picking up Rogers

Romanoff drove down to Washington, D.C. where she would pick up Steve Rogers who was talking with Sam Wilson. Romanoff sent Rogers a text to meet her as they had a mission and drove up to the two. As Rogers made his way in the car, Romanoff joked about his age by calling him a fossil. The two then drove away to meet up with the STRIKE team.[1]

Fighting the Pirates

Romanoff and Rogers were sent with the STRIKE team to liberate the Lemurian Star, the S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel in the Indian Ocean that was highjacked by pirates led by Georges Batroc. As the team got ready to land, Romanoff and Rogers chatted about Saturday night plans which Rogers had none. She also tried to get Rogers to ask a woman out but he claimed he was too busy as he jumped out of the Quinjet without a parachute.[1]

As the Rogers and the rest of STRIKE team went to rescue the hostages, Romanoff suggested that he ask out the nurse across the hall from him and proceeded to the engine room. As Georges Batroc ordered a pirate to start the engines, Romanoff stuck up behind him a knocked him out as well as shorting several other pirates as she grappled down the boat. Rogers asked Romanoff for her status as she was in the middle of a fight with a few pirates in the engine room. She secured the room and knocked out the final pirates with a blow to the face with a steel pipe.

When Rogers knocked out Batroc, he discovered Romanoff's real mission was to retrieve confidential protected S.H.I.E.L.D. files in a flash drive. As the two argued about the mission, Batroc threw a grenade at them which Rogers knocked away and Romanoff shot the glass and the two jumped through the window, just getting clear of the blast. Romanoff took responsibility for Batroc getting away and the two made their way to the Quinjet.[1]

Fury's "Death"

"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years.""So he's a ghost story."

Romanoff met up with Rogers at the hospital and witnessed Nick Fury being operated on. Romanoff asked Rogers about the shooter as Maria Hill joined them telling the two the ballistics were untraceable. The three then watched as the doctors attempted to revive Fury but were failing leaving Romanoff devastated as she watched Fury "die". Romanoff said her goodbyes to Fury when Hill told them that she needed to take Fury. Romanoff then asked Rogers why Fury was in his apartment the night he was shot which he told her he didn't know but Romanoff could tell that he was lying.

After Rogers was made a fugitive, he went back to the hospital to retrieve the USB he left in a vending machine behind pieces of gum only to find it was gone. Romanoff then stood behind Rogers chewing gum implying she took the USB. Rogers questioned Romanoff about the USB's location and what was on it which she told him that it was safe and that she didn't know what was on it. She then told him the masked man who killed Fury was a spy known as the Winter Soldier and she had encountered him once before.[1]

On the Run from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Romanoff, who was now also on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D., followed Rogers and they went to an internet cafe to see if there was any valuable information on the drive. As Romanoff tried to decrypt the USB, she informed Rogers that they had nine minutes until S.H.I.E.L.D. would find them. As the two looked through where the USB files came from, one of the store employees asked if they needed help which Romanoff told him that her and Rogers were looking for honeymoon locations as the USB located where the files originated, New Jersey. Brock Rumlow and his team attempted to find them but failed to do so. On the way out Romanoff made Rogers kiss her to make oncoming STRIKE agents avert their gaze.[1]

They stole a car and drove to Camp Lehigh, New Jersey. The two talked during the drive including Romanoff asking if the time they kissed in the mall was the first kiss he had since 1945. They then arrived at the army camp where Rogers had trained during World War II. At first Romanoff thought the base was a dead end due to there being no heat signatures of radio signals, making her believe whoever wrote the files must of used a router to throw people off. Rogers then discovered a building which was in the wrong place of the base and they then entered. There, they found a secret storage room full of old computers inside an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. office. In there they found a more modern looking USB slot and they put the USB in. The computers powered up and someone began to talk to them.

Rogers and Romanoff in the original S.H.I.E.L.D. base

The voice turned out to be Arnim Zola, who told them that he was recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. after World War II and that he helped to rebuild HYDRA, inside S.H.I.E.L.D. In the 1970s, after being told he would soon die, he transferred his mind into a computer. He had been working on an algorithm that HYDRA wanted. He told them that some of the deaths of S.H.I.E.L.D leaders had been due to HYDRA, showing them a picture of Howard Stark, implying that his death might not have been an accident. Romanoff learned Zola was also involved in the Winter Soldier program. But before Rogers and Romanoff could get any more information out of Zola, S.H.I.E.L.D stormed in and blew up the base. They both survive the blast, however Romanoff was left unconscious.[1]

Seeking Refuge

The next day, Romanoff and Rogers went to seek refuge with Sam Wilson as everyone else they knew was trying to kill them. Romanoff told Rogers that when she joined S.H.I.E.L.D. she believed she was going straight instead of just trading the KGB for HYDRA. Romanoff then asked Rogers would he trust her if it was up to her to save his life which he told her he trusts her now. Wilson then interrupted the two to inform them that he made breakfast which he was unsure if that was something they ate.

Romanoff and Rogers began to question who could launch a domestic missile strike which Rogers figured out it was Alexander Pierce and that Zola's algorithm was onboard the Lemurian Star along with Jasper Sitwell. As the two thought how to kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer as they are the most wanted people in Washington which Wilson suggested that he do it and showed them files of missions that he had been on as well as files on the EXO-7 Falcon suit he used on his missions. Wilson told them where they could find one of the EXO-7 Falcon suits and the protection it has, which Romanoff saw as no trouble.

They went back to Washington, D.C. and interrogated Agent Jasper Sitwell who was a HYDRA agent on top of a roof. When Sitwell refused to tell them anything, Romanoff kicked him off of the roof as a part of the integration. After Romanoff kicked Sitwell, she continued to set Rogers up with some one as Wilson, who was wearing the EXO-7 Falcon suit, caught Sitwell and brought him back to the roof top. Sitwell then told them that HYDRA was going to use Project Insight as a weapon to eliminate people who they saw as threats against the world including Bruce Banner and Stephen Strange.[1]

Return of the Winter Soldier

Romanoff and Rogers fighting against the Winter Soldier

"Insights launching in sixteen hours. We're cutting it a little bit close here."

As Romanoff, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson drove their way to infiltrate the Triskelion, they were interrupted when they were attacked by the Winter Soldier who jumped on their car and threw Jasper Sitwell out, killing him. Romanoff went to shoot the Winter Soldier when an incoming car ran into them from behind, causing Romanoff to drop her gun. When the Winter Soldier caused the car to crash, Rogers grabbed Romanoff and Wilson and jumped out of the moving car. Romanoff and Wilson found themselves under heavy fire but Romanoff used her Black Widow's Bite to grapple off the bridge. As the fire fight continued, Romanoff managed to shot the Winter Soldier in his goggles. As the two assassins shot at each other, Romanoff decided to run in hope to escape but the Winter Soldier followed her.

Knowing she could not escape the Winter Soldier, Romanoff distracted him with a radio message on her phone letting her get the jump on him. Romanoff and the Winter Soldier engaged in a hand to hand fight. Romanoff was able to use her skills as a former spy to use deception and gadgets to gain the upper hand against her opponent. After temporarily subduing the Winter Soldier, Romanoff continued to run and telling civilians to leave when was shot in the shoulder. Rogers saved her and fought the Winter Soldier himself until his mask was removed revealing himself to be Bucky Barnes. Before he could shoot Rogers, Romanoff saved him by firing a grenade launcher, causing him to flee.[1]

Reuniting with Fury

Eventually, Rogers, Romanoff and Wilson were taken into custody. During the drive, Wilson could see the Romanoff needed a doctor as she was losing blood from her gunshot wound. The three were rescued by Maria Hill who disguised herself as a HYDRA guard and knocked out another guard. Hill took them to a secret facility where an alive Nick Fury shocked Romanoff. Romanoff was then taken to a doctor who treated her wound as Fury told them how he faked his death. After Romanoff was bandaged up, Hill and Fury revealed that there was a plan in place to stop Project Insight. The group decided that in the end of all of it, that S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA had to be eliminated for good.[1]

When the encryption required to be disabled, which needed two Alpha Level members, Romanoff told Pierce that company was coming right as Nick Fury arrived. Fury and Pierce gave their authorisations to release all of the files which Romanoff pointed out that it was trending on the internet. Pierce then activated a button on his phone causing all of the council members chests to explode due to their security tags except for Romanoff's. As Captain America and Falcon were successful in destroying the Helicarrier's, Romanoff was ordered by Pierce to accompany him, but as he escaped but Romanoff used her Black Widow's Bite to disarm her security tag, knocking herself out and letting Fury shoot Pierce, killing him. Fury then checked on the unconscious Romanoff, who came round shortly after.

Black Widow lies unconscious

Romanoff and Fury then piloted the helicopter and flew to Falcon's location, where a Helicarrier was crashing into the side of it. They flew the chopper around the northwest corner to catch Falcon who dove out of the window and fell through the chopper but was caught by Romanoff and pulled him up. The three then flew away as Romanoff asked Hill if she knew where Captain America was.[1]

A New Start

"You need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes we help make it that way, but we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me."

Romanoff later attended a government inquiry into the HYDRA affair. When asked why no one has heard from Steve Rogers, which she believed there was nothing more for him to say due to the wreck in the middle of the Potomac made his point. Romanoff also told them that HYDRA was selling the government lies instead of intelligence which General S. Scudder pointed out that Romanoff was responsible for handing out those lies. When it was brought to attention that Romanoff should be arrested, she stated that her and the other agents that fought against HYDRA in the HYDRA Uprising would not be arrested because they are the best qualified to protect the world and then left he inquiry. Now that her secrets were revealed to the world, Romanoff needed a new identity.[1]

At the personal request of Rogers, Romanoff had contacted some of her acquaintances in Kiev who sent her an old Russian top secret document about the Winter Soldier and his own long history working for HYDRA. Later, she stopped by Nick Fury's fake grave, she told Rogers that she wasn't going with Fury nor staying as she had blown all her covers and needed new ones. Romanoff gave the document to Rogers and told him to do her a favour and call Sharon Carter and kissed him goodbye. Before she left she told Rogers to be careful before digging deeper into finding the Winter Soldier.[1]

A few months later, after Phil Coulson's reorganization of S.H.I.E.L.D., Romanoff called Agent Melinda May.[22] A while after S.H.I.E.L.D.'s downfall, Romanoff went back to Russia in hope to find her parents who she barely knows. When she got a location, all she found were two graves so she placed some flowers on them. Romanoff then returned home accepting to accept what she had when she had it.[23]

Avengers Reassembled

Fighting HYDRA

With the rising threat of HYDRA, the Avengers team was officially reassembled, with the financial backing of Tony Stark. Using the former Stark Tower, now renamed Avengers Tower, as their headquarters, they embarked on several missions to thwart HYDRA's plans for world domination.[5]

Romanoff was in Sudan when she hijacked a plane carrying HYDRA operatives meeting with Doctor Jensen who had perfected a weapon using Chitauri technology. Finding a platoon of armed soldiers there, Romanoff had J.A.R.V.I.S. assemble the Avengers to provide her with assistance. Ultimately, the Avengers and Romanoff defeated HYDRA and Jensen and destroyed her weapon.[24]

Their next mission together was to recapture the Scepter from Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's HYDRA Base. Romanoff stole a jeep so she and Hawkeye could keep up with the rest of the Avengers as they fought HYDRA soldiers. Romanoff crashed the jeep and pursued to fight on foot using her skills and weapons to kill many HYDRA soldiers. When Thor pointed out that the Scepter must be at the base at long last, Romanoff said that the long last was lasting a little long. When Hawkeye was injured, Romanoff immediately went to aid and told the others that they needed to evacuate. When the battle was won, Romanoff watched as the remaining HYDRA soldiers were being apprehended by the Iron Legion. Captain America told Romanoff to get to Hulk and calm him down. As Romanoff approached Hulk, she took off her gloves and began the lullaby method to calm him down. The lullaby worked and it caused Hulk to calm down and transform back into Bruce Banner.

On the way back to Avengers Tower, Romanoff told Banner that the lullaby worked better than ever although he was not expecting the battle to need Hulk. Romanoff then told Banner that if he had not of fought than Barton would of been killed. Romanoff asked Thor for an assessment of Banner's skills on the battlefield; Thor commented on Hulk's violence having resulted in the deaths of dozens of HYDRA soldiers. Seeing that this upset Banner, Thor told him that many of the injuries he inflicted on the soldiers were nonfatal.[5]

Celebration

"How'd a nice girl like you wind up working in a dump like this?""Fella done me wrong.""You got lousy taste in men, kid.""He's not so bad. Well, he has a temper. Deep down, he's all fluff. Fact is, he's not like anybody I've ever known. All my friends are fighters, and here comes this guy, spends his life avoiding the fight because he knows he'll win."

When the Avengers returned from Sokovia, Romanoff stayed by Barton's side while his injured skin was being repaired by Helen Cho using a device called the Cradle. Romanoff asked if her friend was going to be ok and she joked that pretending to need him brought the team together. Banner explained to Romanoff what the Cradle is and Cho mentioned that Barton's girlfriend wouldn't even be able to notice the difference which Barton told her that he did not have a girlfriend, not mentioning his wife which only he and Romanoff knew about.

Tony Stark organized a party in Avengers Tower to celebrate their victory against Strucker and obtaining the Scepter. During the Party, Romanoff talked with James Rhodes and bartended for the guests. Romanoff flirted with Bruce Banner, so he would understand that she had feelings for him. Romanoff told Banner about how all her friends are fighters except him as he stays out of the fight as he knows he would win. Before long many of the guests had departed leaving on the Avengers and a few others. As they sat around and drank, Thor invited the Avengers to try and lift Mjølnir. Romanoff watched as the Avengers failed at lifting the hammer and when Bruce Banner's turn came, he pretended to turn into Hulk, which none of the others found funny, except Romanoff. Banner invited Romanoff to attempt to lift Mjølnir but as she drank her beer, she politely declined claiming that it was a question that she didn't need answering.[5]

The party was interrupted when one of Tony Stark's Iron Legion made a surprise appearance, and after admitting that it was the result of Stark's Ultron Program mixed with his research into the scepter, it and several more like it, attacked the group. Romanoff took cover behind the bar and dragged Bruce Banner in after her causing him to fall on her, which she reminded him to transform into the Hulk. She then drew a pistol concealed under the bar to help with the fight. She then covered Banner as the two made their way to a safer sort upstairs. However, the attack was a diversion, and one of the robots made off with the scepter while the Avengers and their friends were engaged in battle. Eventually all the armours were defeated except for the first Iron Legion who announced his intentions to end the Avengers to achieve his idea of peace.[5]

Argument

After the brief fight, the team discussed what had occurred. Romanoff said that Ultron had deleted all their files and that he was in the surveillance. She also said that he maybe knew about them more they knew about each other. Tony Stark admitted his involvement in the creation of Ultron, although he still strongly defended the idea as he believed it was a beneficial plan to save the world. Thor, clearly furious at Stark's recklessness, charged in and grabbed Stark by the throat, but Steve Rogers was able to calm him down.

When reports of robots attacking sources of Vibranium began surfacing, the Avengers raced to a coastal scrapyard in Africa, where they found Ultron, along with Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, taking the Vibranium. As Iron Man, Captain America and Thor confronted Ultron directly, Black Widow and Hawkeye stayed further back to provide cover. As peaceful negotiations quickly failed, Ultron and the Maximoffs attacked, at the same time Klaue sent his soldiers to attack the Avengers.

Black Widow took down many of Klaue's men to protect the rest of the Avengers from attack as they took down the Ultron Sentries, holding her ground until she is restrained by two of the soldiers. A third soldier quickly knocks her out before she can escape, and Romanoff is left out cold on the ground. Klaue's men then turned their attention to Hawkeye, who managed to take them down and clear the area. Romanoff came to shortly after, yet was incapacitated again when Wanda Maximoff snuck up behind Widow whilst she was still dazed from having been knocked unconscious, and inflicted a nightmarish vision upon her. Widow languished in a scene from her past while the fight carried on around her and the enemy made their escape.[5]

Seeing Visions

Romanoff in her vision

"You'll break them.""Only the breakable ones. You're made of marble. We'll celebrate after the graduation ceremony.""What if I fail?""You never fail."

In the vision that Wanda had inflicted upon Romanoff, she woke up and relived experiences in the Red Room Academy the place she had grown up in and was trained to be an assassin. Romanoff walked down the stairs where she came across Madame B., her former trainer, who commented on Romanoff not being breakable and told her that they will celebrate after the graduation ceremony. Romanoff displayed worry of failing but Madame B. assured her she wouldn't. Romanoff then shot at a few targets followed by a human who she the executed.

Romanoff proceeded to relive her experiences during her graduation doing some training where she was holding back so she wouldn't have to go through the ceremony. Madame B. made it clear that the ceremony was necessary in order for Romanoff to take her place in the world, which she believed she didn't have. Romanoff was then sterilized, as to avoid any distractions and focus solely on her missions.

As half of the Avengers were suffering from Wanda Maximoff's nightmares, Iron Man was chasing after Hulk, who had also fallen victim to Wanda's powers and was on a rampage. Iron Man requested Romanoff to give Hulk his lalaby method to calm him down, but Hawkeye informed him that she was not going to be able to help him as she was disoriented by the visions. As the Avengers retreated in the Quinjet, Romanoff, along with Steve Rogers, Thor and Bruce Banner remained temporarily scarred by what they saw in the visions. [5]

Retreat

Still suffering from the effects along with the rest of the team, Romanoff was forced to make a quick escape to the Quinjet not being able to give the Hulk his lullaby. Iron Man was then forced to stop the Hulk's current destructive rampage through Johannesburg, as Bruce Banner was also affected by Wanda Maximoff's powers. The Avengers become unpopular due to a massive battle between Hulk and Iron Man in his "Hulkbuster" armor in the middle of South Africa; at the same time many of the members were still suffering from the effects of Wanda Maximoff's visions. Maria Hill stated that there was no information about Banner's arrest order yet. Knowing they needed to get away and recover, Barton flew the team to his homestead, realizing that no one would be able to find them there.[5]

Barton's Homestead

The Avengers arrived at Barton's homestead (which Romanoff was aware of) where Barton helped her make her way to the house as she was still haunted by the ghosts of her past. Romanoff's troubles were washed away when she was welcomed by her Barton's wife Laura and their two children who consider her family by calling her "Aunty Nat". Romanoff talked with Laura about her pregnancy only to be disappointed when she found out that they baby is a boy and not going to be a "Natasha" but a "Nathaniel".[5]

A Life with Banner

Romanoff and Banner share a romantic moment

"I had this, um, dream. The kind that seems normal at the time, but when you wake…""What did you dream?""That I was an Avenger. That I was anything more than the assassin they made me."

As Romanoff waited for Banner to get out of the shower, she thought about her visions a dream that she had about being an Avenger. When Banner got out, the two talked about their relationship as well as the visions they were shown. Romanoff told Banner about the dream she had where she believed she was an Avenger and not an assassin. Romanoff suggested that they run away together but it was rejected by Banner as he believed he could not live a normal life like what Barton had both as a threat and not able to have kids. Romanoff told him that she was also not able to have kids due to the Red Room's graduation ceremony where she was sterilized to stop her from distractions. Believing herself to be a monster like what Banner considers herself, the two then considered to run away.[5]

Fury's Inspiration

Nick Fury also arrived at the farm and spoke with the group at length about stopping Ultron. While they listened, Romanoff was brought a drawing of a butterfly by Lila Barton. Fury went on to inspire the Avengers who had been defeated by Ultron and called Ultron a platinum bastard making Romanoff to continue a running joke between the Avengers about Steve Rogers telling Tony Stark to watch his language. While trying to think where Ultron would be, Banner figured out he wanted to evolve by using the cradle. Romanoff, Barton and Rogers got ready to leave for Seoul where they believed Ultron would be as he needed to use the cradle.[5]

After Banner made the observation that Ultron was trying to evolve, the remaining Avengers split into two groups, with Black Widow joining Captain America and Hawkeye in a bid to stop Ultron obtaining cellular regeneration technology in South Korea. The trio raced for their objective, and found that Ultron's plan to create a new android body for itself were already well underway, but the Avengers' arrival caused it to grab the body and flee. Hawkeye located Ultron escaping in a truck trailer in heavy traffic, and when a window of opportunity presented itself, Romanoff dropped to the streets on a motorcycle to pursue it herself. Romanoff made her way through the city, being guided by Hawkeye to reach Ultron's location.

Romanoff during the battle of Seoul

As she made her way, she noticed Captain America's Shield on the road and picked it up. She eventually made her way to their location where Ultron was beating Captain America who she rescued by threw him his shield. Romanoff then boarded the truck which became airborne, but she was successful in delivering the dormant android to Hawkeye. However, whilst entering the Quinjet, she was knocked out and taken captive by Ultron.[5]

Ultron's Plans Revealed

When she awoke, Romanoff found that she had been transported back to Sokovia, where Ultron made a show of demonstrating his latest upgrade to her. He revealed to her his plan, still believing that the Avengers are the problem, before confining her to a cell. Romanoff, watching in horror, watches as Ultron destroys his body after building a new and stronger one. After he left, she turned to using an old Cold War-era communication technique in a bid to expose her location without being detected, but could do little else but sit and wait.[5]

Hawkeye eventually received her signal and revealed it to the rest of the Avengers leading them to fly to Sokovia to defeat Ultron and rescue her. As she sat in her cell, Thor destroyed a wall and he and Banner entered to find Romanoff. Banner eventually made his way to the cell and freed her by blasting the cell open. While Banner wanted to run away with Romanoff, she knew that she had to stay and fight, so after kissing Banner, she pushed him down a hole causing him to transform into the Hulk. Romanoff then held onto Hulk as he jumped from Ultron's base to the airborne Sokovia. The two made their way onto the country and continued to help the rest of the Avengers fight the fight to stop the A.I.[5]

Black Widow regrouped with Captain America and asked if Scarlet Witch was wearing her jacket. Captain America informed her that she was with them which didn't explain the jacket to her. Rogers told them that fighting the robots was getting the nowhere, Hawkeye joined the group and told them that the air is getting thin. Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye left and Black Widow asked Rogers what do they do. He told her they fight robots as she took out her Batons. The Avengers fought hard to break the ranks of Ultron Sentries in Novi Grad. Black Widow used her martial arts mastery and weapons, along with her new taser batons, to fight the robots alongside her fellow teammates.[5]

Reinforcements

"I’m not leaving this rock with one civilian on it.""I didn’t say we should leave. There’s worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?""Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It’s about to get better."

When Iron Man told Captain America that his only solution to save the world from Novi Grad being smashed into it was to destroy Novi Grad itself, Rogers refused to entertain the idea. Black Widow however, tried to persuade Steve to consider the option as the world's population would logically take precedence over the people of Novi Grad. When Rogers declared he wouldn't leave Novi Grad and its people to their fate, Black Widow told him that she never intended for them to leave and that they would die with the people of Novi Grad if needed. She reassured herself and Steve that there are worse ways to die and that at least she'd die seeing a great view. Nick Fury interrupted their conversation by saying that Romanoff's view was about to get a lot better. Fury revealed his Helicarrier and used it to enact Rogers' plan and evacuate the civilians while War Machine joined the battle. Fury sent out a squad of rescue boats to evacuate the citizens while Black Widow and the Avengers ensured no one was left behind.[5]

Protecting the Key

Iron Man then came up with a plan to dispose of Novi Grad and called all the Avengers to the city church where the drill was located. Iron Man jokingly told Black Widow that she and Hulk better not be playing "hide the zucchini". Black Widow retorted that she was en route slower since she could not fly as she used a bulldozer to run over Ultron Sentries.

The Avengers were tasked with protecting the drill in the church known as the key so that Ultron could not activate it. Ultron unleashed his army of Ultron Sentries upon them in a final offensive. Black Widow and the Avengers put all their force into destroying the seemingly endless horde of Ultron Sentries, with Black Widow using her guns and Black Widow's Bite to destroy many of the robots. After a vicious battle, the Ultron Sentries were eventually pushed back. When Ultron attempted to join the fight in his strongest form, the Vision, Iron Man and Thor nearly destroyed him with their combined powers. With the battle almost won, Captain America ordered the team to get to a rescue boat and leave the city before Iron Man and Thor destroyed the city. Black Widow went with Hawkeye and confiscated a car, making small talk about how to renovate Clint Barton's Homestead during their drive.[5]

As the battle wound down, Black Widow and Hawkeye turned their attention to evacuating the civilian populace, but soon she received the call to calm Hulk back to his human state. Her calming technique was interrupted by Ultron, who was at the controls of the Avengers' own Quinjet and raked Hulk with gunfire. Natasha was thrown aside and knocked out, whilst Hulk became enraged. He grabbed the unconscious Romanoff and bore her to safety on a newly arrived S.H.I.E.L.D.Helicarrier, before leaping after Ultron to vent his rage.

Romanoff soon learned that Hulk had beaten Ultron in the departing Quinjet and appealed to him through a video link to disengage the plane's stealth technology, but Hulk simply severed the connection.[5]

New Avengers

The New Team

Romanoff and Rogers begin to train the new Avengers

"Well, we're not the '27 Yankees'.""We've got some hitters.""They're good; they're not a team.""Let's beat 'em into shape."

Attack of Ultimo

HYDRA collected many of the parts of the destroyed Ultron Sentries and took them to an undisclosed location in Eastern Europe, where they used the parts to create a giant robot called Ultimo. HYDRA then used the Ultimo to attack a small village. Romanoff joined the Avengers to an attack on the giant robot and together they manged to destroy Ultimo.[25]

Romanoff was on a mission in Lagos with fellow AvengersCaptain America, Scarlet Witch, and Falcon, where they were waiting to ambush Brock Rumlow. Romanoff was sitting at a cafè with Scarlet Witch, observing the area. When Redwing scanned a garbage truck, it was revealed to be at maximum capacity; Romanoff realized that the truck was a battering ram. The team then moved out to the Institute for Infectious Diseases Building where the truck had gone to. As Rumlow escaped the building with his agents, having stolen a dangerous chemical, Romanoff gave chase on a motorcycle. She defeated Rumlow's agents with relative ease, but was grabbed by Rumlow himself, her Black Widow's Bite ineffective against his armored suit. Rumlow threw Romanoff into a truck containing two of his agents, tossing a grenade inside and closing the roof. Romanoff incapactitated the agents and escaped the truck when the grenade blew.

Rumlow gave the chemical to one of his agents and ordered them to split up, letting the Avengers chase them around Lagos. While Captain America fought Rumlow, Romanoff and Falcon pursued the agents. Romanoff reached the agents and held them at gunpoint; however, one of them threatened to drop the chemical. Romanoff killed one of the agents as Falcon's Redwing drone killed the other. Romanoff caught the vial before it hit the ground, thanking Falcon as she left the area. Though Falcon insisted that she thank the drone, Romanoff refused. They battle ended with a blast that accidentally caused by Scarlet Witch, which killed several civilians, including Wakandans.[26]

Sokovia Accords

"If, we have one hand on the wheel that can still steer.""Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss our ass a few years ago.?""I'm just monitoring. We have made some very public mistakes."

While recovering from the the mission at Lagos, the Avengers were presented with the Sokovia Accords by Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross, which would put them under the direct command of a panel of the United Nations. Much to the shock of her comrades, Romanoff agreed with Tony Stark and was willing to agree to the terms of the Accords. She then called Clint Barton and asked if he would sign the Accords, but he claimed he had retired rather than sign.

Romanoff comforts Rogers

On her way to Vienna, where the Accords would be amended, she stopped at Saint Luke's Cathedral, where Steve Rogers had attended the funeral of Peggy Carter. He asked her who else had signed the Accords, so she replied that Stark, James Rhodes and Vision had all signed. She asked Rogers if he would reconsider his decision to not sign the Accords, saying that the Avengers should stay together regardless of how. He, as she expected, still refused and she admitted she was there as a friend to support him as he mourned the loss of Carter.[26]

In the conference at Vienna, Romanoff met the prince of Wakanda, T'Challa, who thanked her for supporting the Sokovia Accords. She also met his father, T'Chaka; to him she gave her condolences for the death of the Wakandan citizens in Lagos. During the conference, a bomb was activated, killing T'Chaka. The authorities suspected that Bucky Barnes was responsible for the bombing from security tapes showing the man responsible.

Outside the building, Romanoff apologized for T'Challa's loss, and promised him that the task force would catch Barnes, but T'Challa said that he would kill Barnes himself. Steve Rogers called her and asked if she was fine. Romanoff responded positively, and she urged Rogers to stay out of the case with Barnes, or he might make things worse. However, Rogers insisted that he should be the one who to bring Barnes in, since he would not die by trying it. He hung up the phone, and Romanoff knew he went to defend Barnes.[26]

However, Barnes escaped, but she and Stark knew Barnes was most likely with Rogers, who, along with Wilson, had also escaped custody. Thaddeus Ross gave Stark 36 hours to bring them in. Stark asked Romanoff if Hulk could assist them, but Romanoff knew that even if he was here, he would probably not be on their side. To get the fugitives in time, Romanoff approached T'Challa to ask for his help, promising she would help him find Barnes.[26]

Black Widow found herself fighting against Ant-Man who was hesitant to hurt her which she told him not to stress about as he didn't stand a chance against her. As the two began to fight fight, Black Widow started to finish him off, but Ant-Man was able to shrink and tried to restrain her. However, Black Widow freed herself by shocking him with her bite causing him to be temporarily knocked out. Later, Captain America threw a fire truck which was also enlarged by Ant-Man's size-altering disk at Iron Man's team which Black Widow successfully avoided. Stark helped her get up and she asked him if fighting was part of his plan, and he responded that he had planned to go easy on Rogers but was now going to change it up.[26]

Fighting Former Comrades

Iron Man then flew Black Widow across to where the rest of Iron Man's team were and the two teams then faced and ran towards each other while Black Widow pointed out that it wasn't going to end well. As the two teams clashed again, Romanoff defeated Ant-Man easily and then proceeded to fight Hawkeye. As the two clashed and he threw her to the ground, she asked if they were still friends in the process which Hawkeye confirmed it by telling her it depended on how hard she hit him. Black Widow then got the upper hand, before Scarlet Witch knocked her out when she saw that Hawkeye was pulling his punches.

Romanoff allows Rogers and Barnes to escape

After coming round, Black Widow then made her way to the hangar to guard the Quinjet. As Rogers and Barnes made it to the hangar, she stood in the way of them and realized that Rogers was never going to stop so she decided to follow her conscience and trust Rogers. She used her Taser Disks to stall Black Panther who was right behind them and was going to apprehend them. Rogers and Barnes escaped the airport in the Quinjet just as Black Panther got free from Black Widow's Bite. As the two watched Rogers and Barnes fly away, Black Widow told Black Panther that she had said to him that she would help him to find Barnes and not to catch him.[26]

On the Run

Romanoff confronts Stark

"T'Challa told Ross what you did, so, they're coming for you.""I'm not the one who needs to watch their back."

Moments before the end of the Leipzig battle, James Rhodes crashed on the ground due to Vision's misfire. In a hospital, Tony Stark approached Natasha and told her that his spine had been damaged. Stark was disappointed at her for her betrayal, claiming that she was still acting as a double agent. She replied that they hadn't dealt with Steve Rogers rightfully. Stark scoffed at her biases towards Rogers before informing her that T'Challa had told Thaddeus Ross of her betrayal, giving her a halfhearted warning that the government would come to arrest her before denouncing their friendship and commenting that betraying people was the only thing Natasha was good at. Insulted, she told him that she was not the one who needed to watch her back, and ran to go underground.[26]

Months later from going on the run[27], Romanoff, now sporting blonde hair, joined up with Rogers and Wilson who were all on the run, and used her KGB contacts to track down a terrorist organization supplied with Chitauri fuelled weapons in Syria. Infiltrating the terrorists, Rogers, Wilson and Romanoff disabled the weapons and then left for Lebanon.[28]

Personality

"You know, it's kind of hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone really is.""Yeah. Who do you want me to be? "

The entirety of Romanoff's character is hard to distinguish based on how she lies and tricks people for a living. She is capable of convincingly portraying friendly and flirtatious, timid, vulnerable and scared. For the most part, she is a level-headed, strong-willed and independent woman. Romanoff normally maintains a controlled, almost emotionless persona to keep whatever she is thinking a secret unless she is around people she absolutely trusts. Although she is more than willing to rush into deadly battle and other unnerving missions for S.H.I.E.L.D., she is not completely fearless, as she was visibly frightened of Hulk. However, she is no longer afraid of him due to falling in love with Bruce Banner.

Though a very serious agent, Romanoff is by no means stuffy and has a sarcastic sense of humor, which mostly surfaces when she is with Captain America or Hawkeye, both of whom she is comfortable around. Romanoff is very smart and loyal which is displayed when she made good on the debts she owed Barton and Rogers (saving the former from Loki's mind control and trying to protect the latter during a highway assault). While tough and at times ruthless, she is still a good person and can be quite heroic in her own right. These qualities are usually brought out by her other Avengers, mainly her missions with Steve Rogers. And no matter how injured she is in battle, Romanoff will go out her way to make sure bystanders are out of harm's way (keeping several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents away when Banner was transforming into Hulk, helping Hawkeye evacuate civilians when the Chitauri attacked Manhattan, and risking her life to make sure innocent people weren't shot by the Winter Soldier when he was chasing her). Her close loyalty to both Rogers and Barton was shown in the Avengers Civil War, as she was willing to aid their faction despite being forced to go on the run from the United Nations afterwards. As a result of her childhood, she considered the Avengers her family, being desperate to keep them together when the Sokovia Accords were due to be signed, and was affected when Tony Stark denounced her as a friend and made it clear he would not help her in the future.

Romanoff is also very close with Clint Barton's family, especially with his and Laura Barton's only daughter, Lila, being the only member of Avengers who knew of their existence. Romanoff is genuinely affectionate with the child, hugging her the moment they reunite and sweetly commended the little girl on the drawing she made. They originally named their youngest child after Romanoff prior to them discovering that it was in fact a boy, thus naming him Nathaniel instead, with Romanoff humorously referring to the unborn child as a "traitor".

Romanoff was sterilized as a rite-of-passage for her graduation from the training she underwent in the Red Room. This event deeply affected her, as she regretfully told Banner of the so-called advantages of the procedure.

Despite her lifestyle of espionage and operating within the shadows, Romanoff's adaptability influenced her opinions on the Sokovia Accords. Realizing the difference between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers with many of their activities seen in the light of day amongst the public, Romanoff wanted to appease public opinions by signing and also that she didn't want conflict with her close friends and teammates like Barton and Rogers. This care for Captain America eventually caused Romanoff to betray Stark's team and assist their escape so they could clear Barnes name, eventually becoming a fugitive because of this.

Abilities

Natasha Romanoff is one of the most talented spies and lethal assassins in the world, being said by her instructor Madame B. to be the best student in the Red Room, never failing a single test. Both the KGB and S.H.I.E.L.D. considered her as one of their most dangerous operatives. Highly skilled in martial arts and hand to hand combat, she also possesses computer hacking skills and training in psychology. Romanoff's extraordinary skill-set has made her a core member of the Avengers, despite not being applied to the initiative.

Master Spy: Romanoff is a dangerous secret agent highly skilled in espionage, stealth, disguise, infiltration, and demolitions. Her talents and years of experience have enabled her to reach a high ranking as a special agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. She often resorts to seduce men to obtain her goals while working undercover, such as when she posed as an assistant to evaluate Tony Stark for the Avengers Initiative. Romanoff's skills are so legendary that Nick Fury created a Lie Detector that he hoped she could not deceive.

Peak Physical Condition: Natasha's life long gruelling training as a spy and assasin grant her a extremely high physical prowess, particularly speed and agility. She is strong enough to overpower most enemies including those are larger than herself.

Master Acrobat: Romanoff incorporates gymnastics and acrobatics into her fighting style as she battles opponents. During her fight within Hammer Industries Headquarters, Romanoff used these skills to defeat the guards. During the Chitauri Invasion, she got to ride a Chitauri Chariot by using her acrobatics to commandeer it.

Master Assassin: Romanoff is very skilled in the art of assassination, considered to be one of the most dangerous assassins in the world. She is known to have killed many people during her time serving the KGB and S.H.I.E.L.D..

Expert Marksman: Romanoff is a very accurate marksman skilled in sharpshooting. During a Battle of Washington, D.C., Romanoff would have shot the Winter Soldier through his eye if he had not been wearing protective goggles. She was also able to throw a Taser Disk directly inside a hatchet in the Winter Soldier's metal arm.

Multilingualism: Romanoff is fluent in Latin, Russian, English, French, German, Chinese, Italian, and various other languages.

Master Interrogator: Romanoff was able to trick Loki into telling her about his plan to use Hulk against the Helicarrier to bust him out of his cell. She was able to do a "reverse interrogation"; while she seemed to be in danger, in truth, she was getting all the information she wanted to know.

Expert Hacker: Romanoff can hack into most computer systems without tripping any firewalls or security. She used this talent to hack into Hammer Industries mainframe and help James Rhodes regain control of the War Machine Armor and enabled him to help Stark fight the rest of the attacking Hammer drones, and again to access the location of Camp Lehigh from the USB Steve Rogers received from Nick Fury.

Pilot: Romanoff is a skilled pilot, capable of flying a Quinjet with ease.

Equipment

Weapons

Black Widow's Bite: Electroshock weapon that can deliver powerful electrical discharges from two bracelets worn by Black Widow. When the Chitauri forces invaded Earth during the Battle of New York, Black Widow used the Widow's Bite to electrocute several enemy troops by jamming her charged fists into them. Romanoff used the Widow's Bite to take out a pirate guarding the Lemurian Star ship's engine room. Romanoff acquired a more powerful version of the Black Widow's Bite from Tony Stark, which causes the piping in her suit to light up and glow. Black Widow would make use of her bite during the Avengers Civil War, Black Widow zapped Ant-Man with her bite, sending her miniaturized opponent flying away and Widow used the bite to covered the escape of Captain America and the Winter Soldier by using Taser Disks fired from her bite to hold off Black Panther.

Black Widow's Batons: Electroshock weapons that can deliver powerful electrical shocks to incapacitate her targets. Black Widow used the batons to take down dozens of Ultron Sentries with a combination of her weapons and martial arts mastery and employed these weapons during the Avengers Civil War, although not charged with electricity.

Makarov PM: During her training with the Red Room, Romanoff trained with this gun, shooting it in quick succession while alternating her shooting arm, and being forced to use it against living targets.[5]

Uniform

S.H.I.E.L.D. Uniform: Black Widow's first uniform was a bluish-black catsuit. It zipped up the front and had fingerless gloves with a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the shoulders. It had two belts one of which had a red hourglass symbol on it and the other had lots of different pouches. It also had a thigh holster.

Avengers Uniform: Her second uniform was a slightly modified version of her earlier one. It was now grey and seems to be made out of a different material. The red hourglass was brighter and the belts were slightly different. The only major difference was the inclusion of built in wrist tasers.

Stealth Uniform: Her third uniform was worn while working on S.H.I.E.L.D. missions with Captain America. Her uniform became black with gray webbing, a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on her right shoulder and her trademark red hourglass over her stomach. It also features her Widow's Bite, a utility belt, and two thigh holsters.

The Fourth Uniform: The fourth uniform worn by Black Widow was similar to her second. She wore a black suit with black padding at the shoulders, knees, and elbows. Her suit also contained a more powerful version of her Black Widow's Bite which when used caused piping on the suit to light up. She also wore a thigh-holster on her left leg.

The Fifth Uniform: The fifth uniform is much sleeker then the previous version. Her suit is not leather, but a more tactical stretch cordura rather than the usual printed stretch fabrics used, although there is some of that in strategic places for mobility. Has a more cat-suit feel to it, closer to to the comics.

Garrote: Romanoff carried a garrote inside one of her bracelets, using it to deflect the blows of one of the security guards at Hammer Industries Headquarters, and later to strangle him until he lost consciousness.

Black Widow is mentioned in the non-canon video game Iron Man. While battling Maggia forces in Afghanistan, Tony Stark comments that he may be able to make it for his date with Ms. Romanoff after all.[29]

Black Widow has had a different hairstyle in each of her film appearances so far, one per movie.

According to Sam Koenig, Black Widow is the subject to a large amount of "steamy" internet FanFiction. Some even alongside Quake their relationship being informally called Quack.

Black Widow dying her hair blonde in Avengers: Infinity War is an homage to the second Black Widow, Yelena Belova.

Behind the Scenes

Scarlett Johansson was pregnant during the filming of Avengers: Age of Ultron, so many of her scenes were scheduled early in filming before she began to show. To help hide her pregnancy later in filming, three stunt doubles were hired. This caused a lot of confusion among the other actors since, according to them, all of the stunt women looked very similar to Johansson. Chris Evans stated that it got to the point where he would say hello and start a conversation with one of them, only to realize that the person he was talking to was not Johansson. Ultimately, some scenes used CGI to hide Johansson's pregnancy.

The role of Black Widow was originally offered to Emily Blunt but she turned it down.[30]

Before given the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2, Johansson dyed her hair red as she wanted the role badly.

Gemma Arterton, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Natalie Portman, Eliza Dushku, and Angelina Jolie were also considered for the role. Natalie Portman would later play Jane Foster in the Marvel films Thor and Thor: The Dark World.

Black Widow is the most frequently discussed candidate in the MCU to get a solo movie, Kevin Feige had stated in an interview that he and Marvel Studios were "committing" to the idea of a Black Widow movie. When asked by MTV about a potential movie revolving around the character Scarlett Johansson (the actress of Black Widow) stated that she and Feige agree that the character is "right for a standalone" though however the only issue noted was "timing" and that she doesn't know if she has the capacity to do it but still she said that "it could be done, it should be done".